A Wanted Man: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 17

Four people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. An hour behind them, a man lies stabbed to death in an old pumping station. He was seen going in with two others, but he never came out. He has been executed, the knife work professional, the killers vanished. Within minutes, the police are notified. Within hours, the FBI descends, laying claim to the victim without ever saying who he was or why he was there. All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride.

I have read four or five iin the series. I like the character Jack R, and I find Lee Child's plots usually intriguing and unique. This one became tedious and stretched the limits of believablity too far. I liked the beginning and it became a bit confusing and quite implausible. I don't mind Dick Hill. I don't understand why women don't read for the women characters. He can't pull that off. I am going to try some of the earliest ones. He might be having to stretch to far???? as he gets this far into the series.

Echo Burning

Reacher is hitching through the heat of West Texas and getting desperate for a ride. The last thing he's worried about is exactly who picks him up.

She's called Carmen. She's a good-looking young woman, she has a beautiful little girl...and she has married into the wrong family. They're called the Greers. They're a bitter and miserly clan, and they've made her life a living hell. Worse, her monster of a husband is soon due out of prison. So she needs protection, and she needs it now.

Lawyers can't help. Cops can't be trusted. So Reacher goes home with her to the lonely ranch where nothing is as it seems, and where evil swirls around them like dust in a storm. Within days, Carmen's husband is dead - and simmering secrets send Echo, Texas, up in flames.

This was a good story, nothing more or less than what one would expect from a Jack Reacher novel. I appreciate always how fast the story line develops. how uncomplicated and unconfused the characters appear. Some stories are so involved in the performance and development of characterization, internal dialogue etc, I get lost. I understand that he is a human super hero and Lee Child pulls it off, although truly he is always a bit bigger than life. but that is what we love -- a super hero.

what I can't handle is Scott Bricks' total narration. HIs voice is quite appropriate for Reacher, but his women are so lame and similar, I can't believe he is still doing the weak feminine starchy voice. I guess mostly men read/listen to these books, and they don't really care about the strength of the women's roles or portrayals. I find it annoyingly distracting. This is one case where I think the narration is detrimental to the story. He also tends to get unnecessarily melodramatic and emphatically static. I have listened to about ten of these books, so it is not a first for me. I wish the producer would consider another reader, it could give more plausibility and enjoyment.

The Crown Tower: The Riyria Chronicles, Book 1

Michael J. Sullivan garnered critical raves and a massive readership for his Riyria Revelations series. The first book in his highly anticipated Riyria Chronicles series of prequels, The Crown Tower brings together warrior Hadrian Blackwater with thieving assassin Royce Melborn. The two form a less-than-friendly pairing, but the quest before them has a rare prize indeed, and if they can breach the supposedly impregnable walls of the Crown Tower, their names will be legend.

I have repeated this review for other books in this series, but wanted to include it especially for the first book. I can't get enough of it. I really can say it all, when I state that I have read this book four times. Also the first book. this happens to be my idea of great entertainment.The Rose and the Thorn, and Heir of Navron, were my least favorites so I only read them twice!! I LOVE the characters, and the narration takes it to my five star experience. It is often quirky when it comes to idiomatic plausibility, but I just chalk it up to daring writing and making the characters have real personality. It would be hard to create the intimacy one feels with the main characters, if we were subjected to the language that would have been appropriate for its' time. It would have distanced us from the engaging nature of Hadrian, and the powerful magnetism of Royce. I really enjoyed this series. !!!!!!!!

Theft of Swords: Riyria Revelations, Volume 1

Acclaimed author Michael J. Sullivan created instant best sellers with his spellbinding Riyria Revelations series. This first volume introduces Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater, two enterprising thieves who end up running for their lives when they’re framed for the death of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy bigger than they can imagine, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery - before it’s too late.

I really can say it all, when I state that I have read this book four times. Also the first book. this happens to be my idea of great entertainment.The Rose and the Thorn, and Heir of Navron, were my least favorites so I only read them twice!! I LOVE the characters, and the narration takes it to my five star experience. It is often quirky when it comes to idiomatic plausibility, but I just chalk it up to daring writing and making the characters have real personality. It would be hard to create the intimacy one feels with the main characters, if we were subjected to the language that would have been appropriate for its' time. It would have distanced us from the engaging nature of Hadrian, and the powerful magnetism of Royce. I really enjoyed this series. !!!!!!!!

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack is a letter addressed to Harold from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in 20 years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person.

This book was engaging from page one. It was also deceptively friendly at the beginning as it continued the unraveling of details that gave meaning and depth to the story line . It was well and strategically written to reveal the necessary aspects that emerged as the pilgrimage progressed. I never wanted to quit but listened right through, although it became painful to me as the details were revealed. It had the sense of a very plausible family in todays society. this is not a feel good book for the light hearted. I will repeat well written and especially well narrated. I assume it was meant as a story of redemption. I did not like the ending or felt that it was adequate as an implication of "light at the end of the tunnel". I gave it four stars because of originality and writing, but it was not my cup of tea towards the end.

A Serpent's Tooth: A Walt Longmire Mystery, Book 9

In this ninth installment in the award-winning and New York Times best-selling Walt Longmire mystery series, the Wyoming sheriff follows his cowboy code of ethics in a religious range war that strikes a little too close to home.

I started Craig Johnson's books right at the beginning. I enjoyed them so much. Now nine books into the series, I wonder if it is being driven by the television productions. I think George Guidall helps to carry the story along. He is such an excellent narrator. I am beginning to feel the familiarity of an over the top, almost superhuman heroic scene. It is hard to picture Walt as Robert Taylor, and even harder to picture "the Cheyene Nation" as Lou Diamond Phillips once one has listened to George Guidall. Nit picking aside. I think you won't be disappointed if you have enjoyed the other books. They all seem to have a similar rhythm, no real surprises, no real disappointments.

A Town Like Alice

Jean Paget is just twenty years old and working in Malaya when the Japanese invasion begins. When she is captured she joins a group of other European women and children whom the Japanese force to march for miles through the jungle. While on the march, the group run into some Australian prisoners, one of whom, Joe Harman, helps them steal some food, and is horrifically punished by the Japanese as a result.

If Humhrey Bower is a mystery, he is the narrator of the Bryce Courtenay Books. I really real;y like this story. It is original and compelling, a little drawn out. I am curious to know whether there is an historical basis during WWII for this aspect of the story. I confess I haven't completely finished it, but nearing the end. I am not enjoying the listening as much. The narrator is dry and tedious. My ears get tired and the lack of tonal range affects the ability to relate to the characters. this is a case where a good narrator could make this a joy instead of endurance. Humphrey Bower is the man for the job.

The Accounting

Jon Willing was just a teenager when he and his buddies Augie and Ben stole a fortune in drug money. Brazen with youth and stoned out of their gourds, they thought they had the perfect plan for getting away with it. They were wrong. Twenty-five years later, Jon’s marriage is in ruins, his kids are virtual strangers, and the recession has decimated his finances. When he finds Augie murdered in Vegas, Jon knows his past has risen from the grave to grab him by the throat. Now Jon Willing faces a choice: run to a paradise of wine and women and endless sunshine or confront the demons from his past and fight for what’s left of his imperfect suburban life.

Charles Atkinson says:"A Great Suspense With Great Depth of Character"

Falling Glass

Richard Coulter is a man who has everything. His beautiful new wife is pregnant, his upstart airline is undercutting the competition and moving from strength to strength, his diversification into the casino business in Macau has been successful, and his fabulous Art Deco house on an Irish cliff top has just been featured in Architectural Digest. But then, for some reason, his ex-wife Rachel doesn’t keep her side of the custody agreement and vanishes off the face of the earth with Richard’s two daughters. Richard hires Killian, a formidable ex-enforcer for the IRA, to track her down before Rachel, a recovering drug addict, harms herself or the girls.

I have a difficult time with the level of violence and dark, destructive life styles. However, McKinty's skill is so superlative, his writing so gorgeous, the narration so brilliant, I persevere. He reminds me of James Lee Burke in his skill level. And I don't make it through all of his books either.I have read four books. I am anxious for the next Sean Duffy novel. Michael in New York is more difficult for me. If you can handle the violence these are fabulous stories!!!!! For me MIchael Connelly, James Patterson, and the longish list of formulaic production writers pale. I have not enjoyed stories this much since Stieg Larrson. ------P. S. I am a sucker for the Irish accent.

The Cruelest Month: A Three Pines Mystery

It's spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees, and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil - until one of their party dies of fright.

I have read three of Louise Penny's books. The more I read the more I enjoy them. I find getting to know the characters and continuing story line adds interest and depth to her stories. I went back and listened to this one again with a much greater appreciation. I am impressed with her character development and penetrating insights into human nature. I don't ever feel as if her writing is superficial or predictable. She does not rely on contrived suspense to capture her audience, but cultivates an interest in the characters. And I must say teases me with her descriptions of cozy fires and good food - I am living in Hawaii and miss it. My only complaint of the listening experience is that the unusual names, French Canadian, combined with the narrators excellent accent sometimes makes it difficult for me to follow. I guess I am familiar with Tom Dick, and Jane. The Narration is excellent, it is my ears that are not used to French. I could follow the story much better in hard copy, but I do love the narrator and the listening in bed, in the dark. It is such a luxury. So I am fine with listening to a book more than once, or repeating a minute or two. If you are not interested in exploitive violence, car chases, authors who are thematically trapped, and don't mind being reminded of a cultivated society where people eat croissants, and sit by fires, and drink cognac, then try Louise Penny.

Mansfield Park

Fanny Price, a poor relation of the rich Bertrams, is reluctantly adopted into the family, to be brought up at Mansfield Park, where she is condescendingly treated. Only her cousin, Edmund, a young clergyman, appreciates her fine qualities. Fanny soon falls in love with him, but Edmund is, unfortunately, drawn to the shallow and worldly Mary Crawford.

I don't have much of a review, but am hoping that someone reads these so that perhaps it will get through to the producers. I know this is probably a very good book. I have liked most of Jane Austins' work. the problem was that I like to relax when I am listening, I often listen in bed in the middle of the night when I can't sleep or for an afternoon nap. Johanna Ward, has a lovely voice, but she read so fast that I had to work to assimilate the text. It was as if she was reading it for a speed test. I am truly sorry, I was looking forward to the book. Hope this helps somehow.

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